The present invention generally relates to patient support decks such as--hospital stretchers, surgical operating tables and hospital beds, and particularly to hand table or armboard assemblies for such patient support decks. More particularly, the present invention relates to hand table assemblies suitable for hand or arm surgeries.
Various surgical tables having articulated table tops have been developed to meet the growing demand of surgical tables which may be used for a wide variety of different surgical procedures. Among the functions desirable for a surgical table is the ability to articulate the back section with respect to the seat section about a transverse axis.
For hand or arm surgeries, a hand table or armboard is attached to a surgical rail of an operating room table or a hospital stretcher at a 90.degree. angle to the longitudinal axis of the patient support surface. It is known to pivot the hand tables about a vertical axis in the plane of the patient support surface as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,505.
Another arrangement for supporting a hand table or armboard is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,210. As shown therein, the armboard 52 is mounted to a novel adapter 100, which includes a horizontal shaft 102 disposed generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the patient support surface. The generally horizontal shaft 102 is, in turn, mounted to a conventional surgical accessory socket 18 that is commonly used for attaching various accessories to a surgical operating table. This configuration allows two additional degrees of freedom to the armboard 52. The armboard 52 can pivot about the axis of a horizontal shaft 102 disposed generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the patient support surface as shown in FIG. 7. In addition, the armboard 52 can pivot about the axis of the surgical accessory socket 18 extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the patient support surface 36 as shown in FIG. 8.
The prior art arrangements, however, do not allow the head of a patient resting on the surgical stretcher to be raised prior to, during or after a surgical procedure. The ability to raise a patient's head is particularly important for patients with respiratory problems. The present invention provides the ability to raise a patient's head without tilting the hand table about its longitudinal central axis. In accordance with this invention, the hand table is mounted to pivot about its longitudinal central axis so that it can remain parallel to the floor even when the back section of the stretcher is elevated.
In an illustrated embodiment of the invention, the hand table assembly includes a platform having a longitudinal central axis and a platform attachment apparatus for coupling the platform to a patient support deck generally in a horizontal plane and at a 90.degree. angle. The platform attachment apparatus illustratively includes a first member configured to be mechanically coupled to an inboard end of the platform and a second member configured to be mechanically coupled to a side rail of an articulatable back section of the patient support deck. The first member is pivoted relative to the second member about the longitudinal central axis of the platform such that the platform remains generally parallel to the floor when the articulatable back section is articulated.
According to another embodiment, the platform attachment apparatus includes a generally planar supporting plate having first and second oppositely-disposed sides. A first outwardly-projecting member is pivotally coupled to the supporting plate on a first side thereof for rotation about the longitudinal central axis of the hand table. The first outwardly-projecting member includes a first rail-receiving channel disposed generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal central axis of the platform and sized for slidably receiving an end rail secured to an inboard end of the platform. A first clamp is mechanically coupled to the first outwardly-projecting member for selectively clamping the platform end rail upon its reception in the first rail-receiving channel. A second outwardly-projecting member is mechanically coupled to the supporting plate on the second side thereof The second outwardly-projecting member includes a second rail-receiving channel facing away from the first rail-receiving channel and also disposed generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal central axis of the platform for slidably receiving a side rail secured to the articulatable back section. A second clamp is mechanically coupled to the second outwardly-projecting member for selectively clamping the side rail upon its reception in the second rail-receiving channel.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the invention, the first and second rail-receiving channels are offset with respect to each other in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of the platform so that the top surface of a cushion supported on the hand table assembly is generally disposed at the same level as the top surface of a mattress disposed on the patient support deck.
According to still further embodiment of the present invention, the hand table assembly includes a platform support leg and a platform support leg attachment mechanism. The platform support leg attachment mechanism illustratively includes a leg-receiving receptacle coupled to the underside of the platform, an upper bracket configured to be coupled to the leg-receiving receptacle and a lower bracket coupled to the platform support leg. The lower bracket has an outwardly-extending portion at one end thereof The upper bracket also has an outwardly-extending portion at one end thereof which is pivotably coupled to the outwardly-extending portion of the lower bracket about a first axis disposed generally transversely to the longitudinal central axis of the platform. A lower latch coupled to the lower bracket at the other end thereof is configured to releasably secure the other end of the upper bracket to the other end of the lower bracket. An upper latch coupled to the upper bracket is configured to releasably secure the upper bracket to the leg-receiving receptacle.
According to the present invention, the platform support leg attachment mechanism includes a support leg storage latch comprising a retaining pin secured to the underside of the platform at one end thereof (e.g., inboard end). The support leg, mounted at the other end of the platform (e.g., outboard end), can be folded and locked in a storage position under the platform by pivoting the platform support leg about the first axis so that it extends generally parallel to the length dimension of the platform on the underside thereof and extending the support leg to cause the retaining pin to enter a retaining pin-receiving receptacle disposed in a foot end of the support leg to lock it in place. The platform support leg illustratively includes at least two telescopic sections and a latch for locking the telescopic sections in place.
Additional features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.